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PEFC launches 2018 photo contest to celebrate forests and wildlife

Following on from the successful 2017 competition, PEFC UK and PEFC Ireland have launched the 2018 photographic competition with the theme of Forests, our Home, Workplace and Playground.

The contest - to close on World Environment Day on 5th June - aims to highlight the importance of caring for our forests and why sustainable forest management and certification are such important element of this.

The PEFC is looking for exciting and inspiring images showing how people use the forests for a range of key reasons – from commercial purposes to relaxation as well as examples of how wildlife including birds, animals and insects rely on them for food and shelter.

There are three national cash prizes to be won and the winners will be announced by the end of June. The winning photos will then be entered into an international competition to find a worldwide winner and the chance to win a further special prize.

Entrants are invited to submit their photographs through Instagram using the hashtag #forestplaywork. Further details and terms and conditions can be found at www.pefc.photo

A special jury – including a PEFC representative – will identify entries that "have used certified timber in an exceptional way" and shortlisted entries will be contacted to confirm that the timber specified and used in the project originates from certified sources – such as PEFC-certified forests – thereby demonstrating clear leadership in sustainable design and responsible purchasing.

The jury will finally judge face-to-face presentations of the 10 best entries on the morning of Friday 30 November 2018, at WAF in Amsterdam. The winner will be presented with their special prize at a Gala Dinner on the same evening.

Interested parties can enter projects via the WAF website - www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/ENTER - where there are 16 completed buildings award categories that are all eligible for the Best Use of Certified Timber Prize. The deadline for entry is 11 May 2018.

On Wednesday 7 February 2018, visitors of the Surface Design Show held at the Business Design Centre in London will have the opportunity to hear about The County Down Barn – a stunning home designed by architect Micah Jones (pictured on the left) and featuring PEFC-certified cross laminated timber (CLT).

The project was featured in the latest season of Grand Designs and Micah Jones and Gareth Mason of CLT supplier Stora Enso will provide an overview on this contemporary take on a traditional barn conversion formed of a one-storey CLT structure installed above a restored stone agricultural building.

Built on a limited budget and timescale and located on a tight site with stunning views across the Mourne Hills of County Down, the building features a complementary material palette of CLT, stone and concrete to produce an elegant, yet comfortable and robust family home.

There were several reasons for the specification of CLT including the material’s enhanced thermal and airtightness performance – a major benefit as all the insulation on the house is external. Other key considerations were CLT’s structural ability to achieve the clean, long spans the architect was looking for and the material’s high quality finish which was important because internally the CLT has been left exposed throughout.

The County Down Barn is Micah’s first project using CLT and he has pioneered this method of construction in Northern Ireland. “CLT is a new product in Northern Ireland,” says Micah. “I had tried previously to move forward with it and not got very far so I’d had to look at other options, but I kept going back to CLT. The most important thing to do if you want to build your home with CLT is to work with a quality manufacturer and an experienced and reputable CLT installer.”

Micah made contact with CLT manufacturer Stora Enso UK who introduced him to G-frame Structures, one of their UK delivery partners. “It was fantastic working with Stora Enso and G-frame. I now have a deeper understanding of what can be achieved with CLT in terms of structure and design.”

Gareth Mason, UK Business Development Manager for Stora Enso said: “The County Down Barn is a great example of what can be achieved with CLT from a structural and aesthetic viewpoint. The finished home is stunning and the innovative over truss solution and full length roof panels have optimised room space, taking full advantage of CLT’s engineering capabilities. Stora Enso is very proud to be involved with and supply sustainable projects such as this. The timber used comes from responsibly managed PEFC-certified forests, and more buildings like this will help combat climate change, as well as creating beautiful projects.”

PEFC UK’s Executive Director Alun Watkins added: “It will be fascinating to hear about the approach to the use of timber in creating this wonderful home. Not only does it look great but it a sustainable, low-carbon building that has used PEFC-certified timber as a key element. Responsible sourcing of timber products within the construction supply chain is vitally important, so this high profile statement proves what can be done.”

Sarawak opts for mandatory forest certification under MTCS

The announcement was made by Sarawak’s Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, at the State Assembly. Yong Teng Koon, who heads MTCC, welcomed the development noting that forest certification was an important instrument to promote and verify the implementation of sustainable forest management in order to safeguard environmental, social and economic benefits.

He also pointed out that - as forestry and timber industries contributed significantly to the socio-economic development of the country - it is imperative that Malaysia is able to demonstrate its forest sustainability credentials through certification.

Timber concessions in Sarawak will be required to obtain forest management certification under the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) to demonstrate that they are responsibly managed. The MTCS which sets the requirements for sustainable forest management certification in Malaysia, was the first Asian scheme to be endorsed by PEFC Council.

Major organisations join PEFC as International Stakeholder members

“We are delighted to welcome ARAUCO, European Panel Federation (EPF) and European Pulp Industry Sector Association AISBL (EPIS) as International Stakeholder members,” said PEFC CEO and Secretary General Ben Gunneberg during the PEFC General Assembly in Helsinki, Finland on 15 November 2017.

“As sustainable forestry is a lifeline for our members, we are very much looking forward to our membership with PEFC,” commented Anna Maija Wessman, European Pulp Industry Sector Association, AISBL (EPIS), speaking at the General Assembly.

“We hope to engage in an active dialogue between EPIS and PEFC, and to have a good interaction in the coming years,” Ms. Wessman continued.

Clive Pinnington from the European Panel Federation added: “As downstream users of certified forests, certification is extremely important to us. We have nominated it as one of our top ten priority areas. We hope to support PEFC and are thoroughly delighted to be a new member.”

Celulosa Arauco Y Constitucion S.A. is a group of forestry and industrial companies located in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, the US, Canada and Europe. Arauco is one of the largest forestry companies in Latin America, both in terms of the surface area and the output of its plantations. Its industrial activities include cellulose plants, sawmills and woodworking plants.

The European Panel Federation (EPF) represents the manufacturers of particleboard, MDF, OSB, hardboard, softboard and plywood, with members in 25 countries. The EU wood panel industry has an annual turnover of around 22 billion Euros, creates over 100,000 jobs directly and counts more than 5,000 enterprises in Europe.

The European Pulp Industry Sector Association AISBL (EPIS) is an international non-profit organization consisting of companies producing chemical or mechanical market pulps. Its purpose is to collect, process and distribute statistics regarding chemical market pulps in compliance with applicable antitrust laws for the benefit of its members and third parties.

With these three new members, the PFC can now count on 28 International Stakeholder members, as well as 49 National members.